"And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren't bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network."
This makes it sound like unlocking a phone while you are still on contract would not be excepted.
Don't like that part of the agreement? Don't sign it, and pay the full price for the phone.
The special treatment is the DMCA, which forbids you from unlocking your phone regardless of the contract. This gives the cell companies an advantage by protecting a loss leader strategy: it is less risky for them to sell you a phone at a large discount which is locked, because it is illegal for you to unlock it whether or not you are under contract. It would be as if an airline sold you a discount ticket, and the law forbade you from having another company carry your luggage.
However, even if I continue to pay my monthly bill, as required by the contract, but I unlock my phone so I can use it in Europe, I am guilty of a felony.
I don't have a problem with that. The phone's essentially lease-to-own at that point.
As soon as the subsidy is paid - via monthly contracts or early termination fees - it should be unlockable.
You don't really own the phone until the contract that got you the phone is terminated. They agree to buy your phone for you if you agree to n-months of service.
...then why do you wind up paying sales tax on it?
(2) You are not taking out a loan on the phone. You are paying a discounted price for it in exchange for signing a contract for service. You bought the phone when you paid the sales tax.
Yes, but you must pay off your loan (the early termination fee) first and then you own the car and can sell it (i.e. as Obama suggested, after your contract ends).
Because if you travel, your contract provider will charge you extortionate fees. It's one of the ways they nickle-and-dime. You can get cheaper plans from foreign telecoms.